Westborough residents have been curious to see what the interior of the house at 43 Church St. looks like since Michael Fitzpatrick and his wife started rehabilitating the property in 2009.

After several open houses, some of which drew crowds as large as 400 people, Fitzpatrick’s work is now being nominated for a statewide award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

Former Westborough Historical Commission Chair Paula Skog said she nominated the project for a 2013 Preservation Award in the category of rehabilitation and restoration.

“I just knew that this was going to deserve a preservation award,” Skog said.

This is the first time a Westborough property has been nominated, she said.

Skog said the house was built in 1849 for Nancy White, a widow who lived in a farmhouse in Westborough until her husband’s death in 1848.

White had three daughters – two of whom married into the prestigious Forbes family, and another, Nancy, who inherited the house at 43 Church St. after her mother’s death.

Fitzpatrick and his wife, Jean Keamy, purchased the single-family home for $180,000 in 2009.

The inside of the home had to be gutted due to structural problems, but the renovation restored the exterior to its original condition with a few additions.

When tearing down interior walls, Fitzpatrick came across a number of diaries, including one by widow White’s daughter Mary.

Fitzpatrick said Ken Gilbert at Willow Bindery in Shrewsbury used chemical solutions to clean the diary’s pages and also patched pages and rebound the book to make it readable.

The diary details life in Westborough from 1850 to 1857.

Fitzpatrick, a master furniture maker, completed the home’s custom work himself, creating moldings, guttering, corbels, and millwork to exact standard and method in his furniture shop, which is located in the rehabilitated barn at the back of the property.

Other elements including hemlock siding, slate roofing and copper flashing were manufactured to match the original.

Fitzpatrick said he worked with Josh Fenollosa of Brown Fenollosa Architects to create the concept of each room in the house.

The four-story mansion has its own dark room and wine cellar.

Fitzpatrick said he hand-made all of the home’s furniture, as well as cabinetry and doors, while his wife handled the lighting and flooring.

Although the rehabilitation of the home was an ambitious project within itself, Fitzpatrick’s renovations also transformed the historic building into a 21st-century smart house.

“There’s about eight miles of wiring in the house,” Fitzpatrick said.

Just one button on a control panel can put the house in “sleep mode,” he said, which entail turning off lights, setting the temperature to 68 degrees and engaging the alarm system.

Another button makes a large flat-screen television pop out of a wall and allows the homeowners to adjust its position to their preference.

Page 2 of 2 - Privacy isn’t a problem despite the glass windows between the couple’s bedroom and a second-floor hallway. The pair can change the appearance of the bulletproof glass from transparent to frosted at the push of a button.

He said the cost of the project to date is “way too much,” but wouldn’t divulge any amount.

“My wife would probably freak out if how much we have spent (on the renovations) was published,” he said.

Though the house is completed, Fitzpatrick said his work is far from done.

He plans to expand the barn to accommodate more workspace and is still in the process of making furniture, shelving and storage for a number of rooms in the house.

“We’ll be dead before it’s done,” he joked.

He and Skog said they will officially submit nomination materials to the Historical Commission this weekend.

The Westborough Board of Selectmen voted to send a letter of support to accompany the nomination.

Sara Mulkeen can be reached at 508-490-7475 or smulkeen@wickedlocal.com.